S/VFX Shots Race

The skyrocketing number of special effects shots in the Star Wars movies has become a shorthand for the way movies in general have become more SFX-heavy. But while the Star Wars films may have started the SFX arms race, they didn’t win it. None of the three Star Wars prequels has as many special effects shots as King Kong. Also, the visually stunning first Matrix movie only has less SFX shots as The Empire Strikes Back.

It’s important to note, of course, that number of S/VFX shots is not the same as complexity of effects. It’s also possible that different movie directors define the term “special effects shot” differently. But still, the raw number of special effects shots in a movie is often used as a proxy for how effects-heavy it is, and how fancy it looks. So here’s a ranking of SFX shots per movie, starting with the stunning amount of VFX Shots in the Bollywood Action Comedy film, Son of Sardaar.

ILM (opening sequence and helicopter fight and Spectre base), DNEG (all the London stuff at the end), MPC (the Alpine and torture room sequences), Cinesite (334 shots, all the Rome and Tangier bits), Peerless (a lot of other odds and sods.)